Hevisaurus are a Finnish heavy metal band that formed in 2009 with music aimed at children. The band members are known for performing in dinosaur costumes. Hevisaurus's debut concert was at the Elämä Lapselle charity concert on 9 September 2009. Their first tour started at the Tavastia Club in Helsinki on 22 November 2009.[2]
Hevisaurus | |
|---|---|
 Hevisaurus performing at Kauppakeskus Kaari on 24 January 2015 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Uusimaa, Finland |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Labels | Sony |
| Members | "Herra Hevisaurus" "Milli Pilli" "Komppi Momppi" "Riffi Raffi" "Muffi Puffi"[1] |
| Website | www.hevisaurus.com |
Foundation
editAfter attending a children's music concert with his own children, Mirka Rantanen decided to start a heavy metal band for children.[3][4][5] Rantanen and his friends from the Finnish "metalhead" community began writing and recording songs.[6][7]
Biography
editHevisaurus has released seven albums to date and the albums have sold over 170,000 copies alone in Finland. Localised versions of Hevisaurus’ albums can also be found in Spanish, Hungarian, Swedish and German.[8][9][10]
The album ”Hirmuliskojen Yö” (Night of the Dinosaurs) was the 2nd most sold album in Finland in 2010, when the band was rewarded with the best children album Emma (Finnish equivalent to Grammy).[11]
The Dudesons and Hevisaurus opened up an indoor amusement park to Oulu’s Super Park in April 2013.[12] The band also has their own Hevisaurus game for Android and iOS devices. In the game, players must finish the levels while listening to the band’s songs. The application also includes mini-games like puzzles. The application was released in 2013.[13]
Hevisaurus have their photo on the walls of Hard Rock Café and have also been listed in the Hard Rock Café’s international database of artists/bands. They are the second Finnish band, besides Amorphis, who have received the honor.[14]
Origin story and characters
editAccording to legend, five dinosaur eggs made from metal survived the mass extinction some 65 million years ago in the mountain of wizards. In the year 2009, witches gathered at the same place. A giant lightning bolt hit the ground and simultaneously created ash and revealed the eggs. From the power of the witches’ chants, the eggs exploded open and five Hevisauri hatched.[15]
Music
editHevisaurus' music skirts between hard rock and metal. Due to the nature of their music being targeted at children, the lyrics are often educational such as Tahdon Maitoo, a song from Hevisaurus' album Räyh!, which celebrates the benefits of the nutritious calcium-rich goodness of milk. They are also known to sometimes adapt popular Western tunes and adapt into their heavy metal style with Finnish lyrics. An example of this is their adaptation of When Johnny Comes Marching Home on Kapteeni Koukku.[16]
Movie
editThe Hevisaurus movie was produced by Solar Films and was filmed in autumn 2014 and was released in the end of 2015. The movie stars the beloved Hevisaurus characters, as well as famous and rising Finnish actors.[17]
Disagreement with Sony Music
editIn the beginning of 2011, Mirka Rantanen, the drummer and one of the founding members, fell into a dispute between their record label Sony Music Entertainment about the copyrights and trademarks of the characters. As a result, Rantanen formed a competing band called “Sauruxet”, with the people who played in the Hevisaurus live set-up. The court ordered “Sauruxet” to pay the record label €100,000 and legal fees. Legal documents stated that the rights for the characters had always belonged to Sony Music Entertainment.[18][19]
Members
edit
- "Herra Hevisaurus" (Mr. Hevisaurus) – vocals
- "Milli Pilli" – keyboards
- "Komppi Momppi" – drums
- "Riffi Raffi" – guitars
- "Muffi Puffi" – bass
Discography
editAlbums
edit| Year | Album | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|
| FIN [20] | ||
| 2009 | Jurahevin kuninkaat | 5 |
| 2010 | Hirmuliskojen yö | 3 |
| 2011 | Räyh! | 2 |
| Räyhällistä joulua | 21 | |
| 2012 | Kadonneen louhikäärmeen arvoitus | 1 |
| 2013 | Vihreä vallankumous | 10 |
| 2015 | Soittakaa juranoid! | 12 |
| 2017 | Mikä minusta tulee isona? | 29 [21] |
| 2019 | Bändikouluun! | 32 [22] |
Singles
edit| Year | Album | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIN [20] | |||
| 2010 | "Hirmuliskojen pikkujoululevy" | 1 |
Other singles
- 2009: "Jurahevin kuninkaat"
- 2009: "Viimeinen mammutti"
- 2010: "Saurusarmeija"
- 2010: "Kurajuhlat"
- 2011: "Räyh!"
- 2011: "Tonttuheviä"
- 2012: "Ugala bugala"
- 2014: "Aarrejahti"
- 2015: "Juranoid"
Compilations
edit- Jurahevin Ikivihreät (2014)
Music videos
edit- Jee Hevisaurus (2009)
- Viimeinen mammutti (2010)
- Saurusarmeija (2010)
- Yhteinen joulu (2010)
- Räyh! (2011)
- Tonttuheviä (2011)
- Ugala Bugala (2012)
- Avaruuden autokorjaamo (2013)
- Liskodisko (2013)
- Aarrejahti (2014)
- Juranoid (2015)
- 100 (2019)
Musicals
edit- Purppuramysteeri (2010)
- Eläintarhan yövahti (2011)
- Salainen tehtävä (2012)
- Velhojenvuoren salaisuus (2013)
References
edit- ^ "Hevisaurus". MTV (UK and Ireland). Archived from the original on 1 August 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
- ^ "Hevisauruksen kiertueen avaus oli lastenjuhlaa", Sony BMG, sonybmg.fi, 2009-11-26, archived from the original on 2016-01-31
- ^ "Helsingin Sanomat - International Edition - Culture". Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
- ^ "Heavy metal dinosaurs rock the kiddie crowd in Finland". The Age. The Age. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
- ^ "Saudi Gazette - Heavy metal dinos rock Finnish kids". Saudi Gazette. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
- ^ "Monster mash". Taipei Times. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ Vinha, Laurie (3 May 2010). "Heavy metal dinosaurs Hevisaurus rock the kids with songs about homework and monsters". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ Heavysaurios (in Spanish), Heavysaurios
- ^ Hevisaurus kiinnostaa jo Australiassa asti (in Finnish), Klaava
- ^ "Hevisaurus", hevisaurus.se (in Swedish), 2014-10-25, archived from the original on 2014-10-25, retrieved 2015-01-27
- ^ "Hevisaurus julkaisee kokoelmalevyn Jurahevin Ikivihreät, Ilmestuu 24.10", sonymusic.fi, Sony Music, 2015-01-20, archived from the original on 2014-12-14
- ^ "Hevisaurus-seikkailut", superparkoulu.fi, Super Park Oulu, 2015-01-20, archived from the original on 2015-01-20
- ^ "Lasten suosikkiyhtye Hevisaurus julkaisi oman pelin", sonymusic.fi, Sony Music, 2015-01-20, archived from the original on 2015-01-20
- ^ Lasten suosikkiyhtye Hevisaurus saa kunniataulun Hard Rock Cafen kokoelmiin (in Finnish), Sony Music, 2015-01-20, archived from the original on 2015-01-20
- ^ Yhtye (in Finnish), Hevisaurus, archived from the original on September 19, 2013
- ^ Wiser, Danny (29 August 2021). "FINLAND: Jurahevin Kuninkaat - Hevisaurus". 200worldalbums.com. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
- ^ "Hevisauruks elokuva", sonymusic.fi, Sony Music, 2015-01-20, archived from the original on 2015-01-20
- ^ Hevisaurukset löi Sauruxet käräjäoikeudessa, MTV, February 2012, archived from the original on 2015-01-20, retrieved 2015-01-27
- ^ Lastenbändi Hevisauruksen oikeuksista kiistaa, Helsingin Sanomat
- ^ a b "Hevisaurus discography". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
- ^ "Suomen Virallinen Lista".
- ^ "Suomen Virallinen Lista".